Six months of prepping, researching, training, studying, exams, life events, pitching, pivoting, pitching again and we were on the home stretch to the Dragon's Den finale of the competition!
On the last development day, each of the finalists were assigned a mentor and I got a really great one. I had two weeks to work with my mentor Mark Dineen (Senior Manager within Accenture technology consulting) who helped me take my pitch apart and put it back together like a great big jigsaw puzzle.
At this stage, the difference between my original starter pitch and my final polished "go for it" pitch were incomparable. The last two weeks of living and breathing the competition paid off and it was time to enjoy it.
So here we are and don't we all look smart with the "Alan Sugar" of Accenture and the coveted trophy?! It is rare you meet a group of people who are competing against each other that get on really well…but…take a good look folks...this is the group. There was nothing but support and encouragement with a good old heap of slagging (for those reading overseas, "slagging" is good natured teasing in Ireland).
The day started out with the photo shoot that you see above. Hilarious doesn't come close to describing the range of "discomfort" to "natural ability" that the finalists had in front of the camera.
We also caused great amusement for the locals as we "leaned in", "walked to camera" and almost got run over by a taxi! By the time we made our way back to the office, I already had a text from a friend saying she heard I was filming for the next season of "The Apprentice" in Grand Canal Dock. You have to love social media and the speed that rumours can travel! :)
After a quick lunch, the running order was unveiled. Nobody wanted to go first and of course that was exactly where my name was placed. Five minutes in a quiet room going over the slides and I decided to close the laptop. There was nothing more to learn off, I was prepped and ready to nail it!
All of the hours spent tweaking, image searching, figure checking, data analyzing, researching, surveying, contact building, interviewing, changing direction and reciting were worth every second of the 15 minutes in this room.
I went through the presentation piece by piece and managed to fit it into just over 10 minutes. Enough time for the Dragon's to ask questions and for me to add in the key benefits one more time!
When I came out of the boardroom, I really wanted to go back and do it again (for fun). I now know that front of room with the clicker in hand making change happen is where I am very happy and intend to be lots in the future.
Time to go back into the waiting room with the others and luckily I was able to reassure them that they were not going to be eaten alive. At this stage, I was very glad to have gone first and not have the nervous build up from the wait.
A couple of hours later and video interviews complete, it was time for us to have a well deserved drink and wait for family, friends and college representatives to arrive for the awards ceremony. All involved were in top form with a combination of relief, excitement and anticipation of what was ahead.
Colin Ryan (Accenture Leader of Tomorrow Sponsor) got proceeding underway without further ado and the winners were announced. Drum roll please…………
Following the awards the ceremony, the celebrations continued late into the night (later for some than for others) with all of the Accenture team. Great fun and a great crew!
So there you have it, while the competition has closed the journey is only starting for each of the finalists. Big plans ahead for all involved and here is a snippet of what they each have in store……...
The dynamic duo (Owen and Norma) are still working on their innovative business idea "Effy", and are in talks with a potential developer.
They also have some new innovations up their sleeves!
Pitch Perfect!
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| The Accenture Ireland Leaders of Tomorrow Finalists with Accenture Ireland Country Managing Director, Mark Ryan. Picture by Shane O'Neill / Copyright Fennell Photography 2014 |
The day started out with the photo shoot that you see above. Hilarious doesn't come close to describing the range of "discomfort" to "natural ability" that the finalists had in front of the camera.
We also caused great amusement for the locals as we "leaned in", "walked to camera" and almost got run over by a taxi! By the time we made our way back to the office, I already had a text from a friend saying she heard I was filming for the next season of "The Apprentice" in Grand Canal Dock. You have to love social media and the speed that rumours can travel! :)
After a quick lunch, the running order was unveiled. Nobody wanted to go first and of course that was exactly where my name was placed. Five minutes in a quiet room going over the slides and I decided to close the laptop. There was nothing more to learn off, I was prepped and ready to nail it!
Show Time!
Following a short introduction to the Dragon's, I was up and my presentation was on screen in all its glory. The actual pitch was taking place in the Accenture boardroom which is a fabulously impressive room with floor to ceiling glass overlooking the water. The picture below doesn't do it justice but I wanted to set the scene for you.
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| (L-R) Sonia Flynn (Facebook), Gary Leydon (NDRC), Peter O'Donovan (Paddy Power), Nuala Canning (Brandfire), Mark Ryan (Accenture) and Liam Kavanagh (Irish Times) |
All of the hours spent tweaking, image searching, figure checking, data analyzing, researching, surveying, contact building, interviewing, changing direction and reciting were worth every second of the 15 minutes in this room.
I went through the presentation piece by piece and managed to fit it into just over 10 minutes. Enough time for the Dragon's to ask questions and for me to add in the key benefits one more time!
When I came out of the boardroom, I really wanted to go back and do it again (for fun). I now know that front of room with the clicker in hand making change happen is where I am very happy and intend to be lots in the future.
Time to go back into the waiting room with the others and luckily I was able to reassure them that they were not going to be eaten alive. At this stage, I was very glad to have gone first and not have the nervous build up from the wait.
Colin Ryan (Accenture Leader of Tomorrow Sponsor) got proceeding underway without further ado and the winners were announced. Drum roll please…………
In 3rd Place- Peter Duffy representing UCC
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| Colin Ryan (Accenture Leaders of Tomorrow Sponsor) and Peter Duffy, 3rd place in the Leaders of Tomorrow Award 2014 |
2nd Place- Tara Justin (moi) representing DIT
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| Dr. Kate Ui Ghallchoir (Head of DIT School of Marketing), with Tara Justin, (LOT 2nd place) Eithne Harley, (Director of Integrated Marketing at Accenture) and Colin Ryan (Accenture Leaders of Tomorrow Sponsor) |
1st Place!!!
Nubi Kayode and Alex Keane representing Smurfit
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| Allen Higgins (UCD) with Nubi Kayode, Alex Keaney and Dr. Michael MacDonnell, Programme Dean of Business at UCD |
So there you have it, while the competition has closed the journey is only starting for each of the finalists. Big plans ahead for all involved and here is a snippet of what they each have in store……...
They also have some new innovations up their sleeves!
This summer will see Owen crossing the pond to London to work in Business Development with Enterprise Ireland while Norma is off to Smurfit Business School to begin a Masters in Supply Chain Management. I see a lot of skyping in their future. :)
Nubi and Alex are hard at work developing their business idea "OnePlace".
According to Alex, "There will be a good few long nights over the summer that's for sure……As for what we do next, there are too many paths to follow to give a definite answer, but we are fairly sure some funding is needed to go forward so thats our main priority at the moment". The duo are also seeking a technical co-founder to join their team in NDRC and they are really looking forward to their prize trip to the Accenture Innovation Centre in New York (I will definitely be giving them a shopping list!).
Michael is currently in his penultimate year in University and is "graced with at least twelve months more" before he decides what next.
KPMG will be the lucky company to have Michael interning in their advisory department over the summer. From this, he plans to apply for a number of consulting graduate positions with different firms, including Accenture, next year. His current aim is to gain experience across a wide range of industries as a management consultant, with the long term goal to create his own company once he has more experience within the operational side of business.
entrepreneurship from the competition, he plans to pursue this career route and hopes to one day have a successful business which he grown from the ground up (that is if Accenture don't snap him up first!).
As for my plans…I am heading into an accelerated semester for my Masters in June with two sets of exams on the horizon. "Pressure is for tyres" I hear!!
After that, I will be participating in the NDRC's
Nubi and Alex are hard at work developing their business idea "OnePlace".
Following the competition, Peter met with the team of coders who developed his prototypes with him to discuss the feedback received from the judges and the options they had to progress the idea further.
As Peter explains, "We brainstormed some improvements that could be made and decided to have a proper sit down about the future potential for Loopstr after all exams are finished. In short, we will be revisiting the idea in the coming weeks to decide what the future holds for Loopstr!".
Michael is currently in his penultimate year in University and is "graced with at least twelve months more" before he decides what next.
John has his head in the books for his impending exams in the short term and still has the potential to develop his business idea "Garage Finder" over the coming months.
He has a great future ahead of him and is a very persuasive communicator. With a taste of
"Female Founders" programme in July to hopefully build my team with the goal of being on the NDRC Launchpad in September! Exciting times ahead!
At the start of this blog, I told you that I have always believed that if you can dream it, you can do it. My aim was to get Accenture on board with my business idea and secure their interest. Well... that box is now well and truly checked. I will be moving forward with the support and advice of the fantastic Accenture team (along with a couple of dragons who have offered their help as well). Next on my list is NDRC and INVESTORS!!
The Leaders of Tomorrow competition has been a game changer and I would highly recommend participating to any student/ graduate. The training, exposure to contacts and overall experience is something that I cannot put a price on. If you have a business idea, go for it!
On behalf of all of the LOT 2014 finalists, we send a big thank you to the Accenture and NDRC teams. Personally, another big thank you to DIT for all of the support (particularly Dr Kate Uí Ghallachóir, Dr Etain Kidney and Tara Grehan).
So that is it for this installment. Stay tuned for the next steps on my journey to entrepreneurship and keep up to date by following me on Twitter @taraljustin.
At the start of this blog, I told you that I have always believed that if you can dream it, you can do it. My aim was to get Accenture on board with my business idea and secure their interest. Well... that box is now well and truly checked. I will be moving forward with the support and advice of the fantastic Accenture team (along with a couple of dragons who have offered their help as well). Next on my list is NDRC and INVESTORS!!
The Leaders of Tomorrow competition has been a game changer and I would highly recommend participating to any student/ graduate. The training, exposure to contacts and overall experience is something that I cannot put a price on. If you have a business idea, go for it!
On behalf of all of the LOT 2014 finalists, we send a big thank you to the Accenture and NDRC teams. Personally, another big thank you to DIT for all of the support (particularly Dr Kate Uí Ghallachóir, Dr Etain Kidney and Tara Grehan).
So that is it for this installment. Stay tuned for the next steps on my journey to entrepreneurship and keep up to date by following me on Twitter @taraljustin.
Signing off for now with one last video of "The Final" for you to enjoy!
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